This article will show how to create a registration record, which is typically performed for new clients and periodically (say, annually) thereafter.
Definition
A Registration in PantrySoft is a record storing household eligibility information, as well as other information pertaining to the entire household. Typically, in a pantry's workflow, intake employees will create a Registration for a brand-new client, and then thereafter they'll be prompted by default to make a new Registration for the Client 12 months after the previous one. (PantrySoft's default Registration-prompt frequency is 12 months after a client's most recent registration, but you can change this interval in the settings). Whenever you pull up a Client record in PantrySoft whose Registration is due (i.e., was more than 12 months ago), PantrySoft will alert you that they need a new one.
Kiosk and Online Store: Registration Questions Replace Demographic Questions. Our streamlined interfaces, which include the Express Kiosk and the Client Portal / Online store, condense all registration information into a single initial intake screen. These interfaces assume a single head of household steps forward to answer for their entire family. As such, there are no Household Member / "Demographic" questions in these streamlined workflows.
To gather demographic data, craft / phrase Registration Questions as if they were Demographic Questions. For instance, instead of an "Is Veteran?" household member question, create a "Primary is Veteran?" or "Household Contains Veterans?" Registration Question.
Creating a Registration
Perform the following steps to process a standard registration:
- Load the Client
Load a client into the Staff Dashboard. - (Optional) Verify the Registration Alert
At this point, if registration alerts are active (by default they are) and the client has no registration inside a pre-determined interval (the default is 12 months), PantrySoft will supply an alert that a Registration is due. In the figure below, the client’s last registration was more than 12 months from the current date (April 2021), which triggered a Registration Due alert and the warning beneath the New Registration button.
To learn how to alter or disable registration alerts, see the Registration Frequency Rules article.
- Register the Client
Click New Registration inside the Registration widget at the lower right corner of the Staff Dashboard. This pops up a screen that includes a number of optional components. Only Registration Date is essential to the process. By default, Income Sources and Expenses are also available for entry (Click the "+" icon next to add Income or Expenses to the Registration).
Click Save and Exit to save the registration.
- Confirm the Registration
Verify that there is now a registration record with today's date and time (or whichever date and time you chose) displayed in the Registration widget on the Staff Dashboard.
Back-Dating Registrations. You can set a registration to any date and time you like. However, this can alter the relationship it has with other records.
For instance, suppose the following:
- In August you created a certain Client record and answered the "Is Veteran?" question on the Household screen for each household member.
- Then you back-dated the Client's first and only Registration to July.
- Finally, you ran a report that queried Clients who registered in July, and counted the Household Members' demographic answers to the "Is Veteran?" Demographic/Household Member questions (you made a "July-Registered Veterans" report).
Because back-dating the registration would not also back-date the household members' answers to the Veteran question, the report would not count the Members as veterans. It wouldn't find their answers because their answers given on the Household Member record are dated sometime in August. Because Household Member info can change, Member answers have a lifespan. Backdating the Registration put the Registration and the Member answers out of sync.
Optionally Appearing Components
Note the following additional components on the Registration screen (if you have configured them before-hand):
- Income Sources. If there is at least one income source present in the Income Description picklist, you will see a button inviting you to add an income-source record to the registration. This will allow you to create separate records per household member, per income source, and these entries will then be available for reporting. See Registrations: Income & Expense.
- Expenses. If there is at least one expense source present in the Expense Description picklist, you will see a button inviting you to add an expense record to the registration. This will allow you to create separate records per household member per expense source, and these entries will be then available for reporting.
- Registration Questions. If registration questions have been created, they will appear on the registration record. Because these are infinitely customizable, you can (say, annually) ask the clients if they’re aware of a certain service, if they participate in a certain program, what kinds of assistance they receive, etc. You can later aggregate the answer to any of these registration questions into a report using the reporting tools (See Custom Question Creation article).
Editing and Deleting a Registration
Perform the following steps to edit or delete a registration:
- Load the Registration
Click the pencil icon beside the target’s name. - Option 1: Edit
Change desired fields. then click Save and Exit. - Option 2: Delete
Click Delete, then confirm your intent when the warning appears. This will return you to the Staff Dashboard.